When did you start spelling words?

[Mama~Love]

I'm thinking of starting DD (6 - almost 7) with a simple, 5 word list a week of mainly sight words that she reads, but has a hard time writing.

Does this sound OK, or should I just wait a year or two?

TIA!

[umsami]

DS1 is 5-1/2 and uses Click-N-Read Phonics. They have spelling sight words as part of the program. I honestly didn't make a big deal out of it, and would help him spell them in the beginning... but he surprised me by spelling them correctly himself a few weeks later.

I will say that DS does fine typing the words, but if he had to write them by hand, it would be much more difficult.

[LilyGrace]

We didn't start spelling words until age 8-9, and even then it was a self-created list titled "These are the words I have trouble with". Until then, just getting him to put his thoughts to paper was more important, I thought.

[Mama~Love]

Originally Posted by umsami

DS1 is 5-1/2 and uses Click-N-Read Phonics. They have spelling sight words as part of the program. I honestly didn't make a big deal out of it, and would help him spell them in the beginning... but he surprised me by spelling them correctly himself a few weeks later.

I will say that DS does fine typing the words, but if he had to write them by hand, it would be much more difficult.

I know DD would have no problem typing out words, writing them is much harder for her too.

Originally Posted by LilyGrace

We didn't start spelling words until age 8-9, and even then it was a self-created list titled "These are the words I have trouble with". Until then, just getting him to put his thoughts to paper was more important, I thought.

I have trouble with DD writing anything besides her penpal letters. Maybe I'll just wait then, I don't want to frustrate her with too much writing.

[elizawill]

my dd is 7 and has simple spelling words each week. we use www.spellingcity.com - she likes it a lot. hth

[theretohere]

My oldest is almost 5- and does 5 spelling words a week (easy ones like cat). She loves it and mails them to her grandparents.

[mommy68]

My DD is 6.5 and does work from workbooks in spelling, reading and phonics. She gets plenty of time in writing words and her spelling has six new words each week. I also do hooked on phonics with her once or twice a week. But she is doing great just learning words all on her own. She amazes me at some of the words she can read. Now writing the words, that's a whoooole other issue for my DD. She is SO slow at writing words and dreads it like crazy. So our spelling workbook helps a lot with that.

[Mama~Love]

Originally Posted by elizawill

my dd is 7 and has simple spelling words each week. we use www.spellingcity.com - she likes it a lot. hth

Oh, thank you!! That helps a lot!

Originally Posted by mommy68

My DD is 6.5 and does work from workbooks in spelling, reading and phonics. She gets plenty of time in writing words and her spelling has six new words each week. I also do hooked on phonics with her once or twice a week. But she is doing great just learning words all on her own. She amazes me at some of the words she can read. Now writing the words, that's a whoooole other issue for my DD. She is SO slow at writing words and dreads it like crazy. So our spelling workbook helps a lot with that.

Our DD's sound similar. Mine hates any time of writing, except penpal letters. DD can read really well too, she just hates printing.

[Mallory]

We have sort of started this year with my 3rd grader. We are using Websters Speller, and reviewing reading and some spelling.

But it isn't very serious.

I think the writing program I have picked for next year (either Writing Tales or Classical Writing Aesop) do some spelling work.

I know I was a terrible speller in school, and the only thing that has really helped is lots of reading and time.

[moominmamma]

We never started. What I found was that about 3 years after my kids became fluent readers and began reading lots, their spelling got really really good. Without doing anything.

Miranda

[elizawill]

Originally Posted by mommy68

She amazes me at some of the words she can read. Now writing the words, that's a whoooole other issue for my DD. She is SO slow at writing words and dreads it like crazy. So our spelling workbook helps a lot with that.

yes, my daughter is the exact same way! her reading skills far surpass her writing and spelling.

[cappuccinosmom]

We started with first grade, but the spelling words are part of the phonics program, rather than independent. So he learns the sounds and then has 8 examples of that phonics concept to practice and work on.

[mama_mojo]

We just started spelling this year (third grade). DH and I are REALLY good spellers, but I learned when I taught school that some people just have this ability and some do not. DS seems to be in the not camp; for the life of him, he cannot figure out what vowel goes in a word. Last year, he got panicky anytime I suggested he just guess how to spell a word; he likes to do things right. So, we have spent a whole semester on the vowels in very short, very familiar words. We made the lists from what he's reading; he's an avid reader, and I can see big improvement that seems related to the reading, like spelling words much more difficult than the his list that he struggles with. He's beginning to believe he CAN spell, but I'm not sure why he ever thought he couldn't.

Very long way of saying- we started in the third grade. First grade dd is teaching herself how to spell since I just WON't teach her to read (not true).

[marilynmama]

Originally Posted by moominmamma

We never started. What I found was that about 3 years after my kids became fluent readers and began reading lots, their spelling got really really good. Without doing anything.

Miranda

Same here. I think spelling words and list and all that is totally not needed. I have never once had to teach spelling, kids just start being able to spell once they are reading well and often. If they don't know a word they can look it up in the dictionary or something.

[littlemizflava]

my dd 6 had been spelling for atleast 2 years and we have been doing actual spelling words for a year. she was having trouble reading so i dropped off the reading for the most part. i had read that spelling words comes before reading. for my dd this is true. we do 6 words sometimes they are themed sometimes it is just whatever comes to my head i go between 3-5 letter words throwing in 1 and 2 letter words just to mix it up :

forgot to say we do play games where we spell talk...